Ambassador of Greece to China Leonidas Rokanas visits prestigious Chinese Academic Institutions-Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAITEC)

Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAITEC)
under Ministry of Commerce in China

Ambassador L. Rokanas briefed staff members of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAITEC), under Prof. Zhang Wei, the Vice President of CAITEC, on key developments in Greek economy and bilateral economic relations (February 2017). The Greek Ambassador referred to the close political ties between Greece and China, exemplified in the visit of Prime Minister A. Tsipras in Beijing and Shanghai last year, and in a series of bilateral meeting held by the Greek Prime Minister with the heads of major Chinese companies including COSCO, Huawei, Wanda, ZTE and Alibaba.

In addition to the excellent bilateral political ties, Greece and China have held a long and very close cooperation in the field of shipping and ship-building, as well in the field of infrastructure investment and the energy sector, with rising numbers of Chinese tourists visiting Greece. Amb. Rokanas noted. There is also a great potential for optimizing bilateral trade relations, with increasing flows of renowned Greek agricultural products to the Chinese market. The Greek Ambassador underscored the support of Greece to the OBOR initiative, the key role of the Piraeus and COSCO's investment there, and referred to recent positive indicators in the Greek economy (positive growth, deficits reduction, improvement in competitiveness and the implementation of numerous reform measures) signaling a new cycle of development. The Minister Counselor of the Economic and Commercial Section of the Embassy, Emmanuel Stantzos, the First Secretary of the Section, Georgios Chatzipetros, and the head of the Press Office of the Embassy, Euthymios Athanasiadis, also attended the meeting.